Acharya took a one-stroke lead over pro Rabi Khadka in the completion of the first round. The top amateur of the country registered a card of two-under 70. He was on par 36 on the front nine. [break]
Acharya, the younger brother of pro Deepak Acharya, sank an eagle on Hole No 12 and maintained par on all the other holes to complete the round with two-under 70.
Khadka, the pro golfer from the Royal Nepal Golf Club, was only the second player behind Acharya to card under-par among the 35 golfers participating in the competition. Khadka was on even-par 36 in the front nine.
He was all set to share the lead after hitting birdies on the 10th and 12th holes, but the last hole saw Khadka drop a shot that pushed him to the second position.
Deepak Neupane of Himalayan Golf Club, Pokhara and Mani Rai of Nirvana Country Club, Dharan shared the third position with a score of one-over 73 each.
Another amateur, Sumandra Giri of Gokarna shot three-over 75 to stay overall seventh and second among amateurs.
The cut will be applied after the second round and 20 plus ties in the professional and four in the amateur sections will make it to the final two rounds of the event.
The top three winners will receive Rs 72,000, Rs 46,000 and Rs 36,000 respectively in the tournament organized by Nepal Professional Golfers Association under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.
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